Addicted
by Nabuula
Summary: As a conduit, life can be pretty hard, when the D.U.P. is trying to hunt down each and everyone of them. Ella knows this all too well, and just as she thought she would be good at avoiding the D.U.P., she gets caught in Seattle while the city is locked down. Now here she is, trying to hide herself from everyone's eyes, while that strange guy with the beanie is on her tails. Great!
1. Chapter 1

**Hey there, and welcome to this fanfiction. **

**Just before you start reading, I want to point out that English is not my first language. Now, this is not an excuse for any mistakes I made which could complicate the reading. It rather is a friendly invitation for you to point out the mistakes I made, so I can improve my writing skills and correct my mistakes. It is very difficult to improve when you don't have someone who points out your mistakes and/or corrects them, so I would really appreciate any kind of criticism you can offer. **

**But now, please enjoy reading the first chapter of 'Addicted'. :)**

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_She stood there, petrified, staring at her father in disbelief. She couldn't believe what he'd just said. She had expected anything when he had told her to come downstairs to have a talk with him. The relation between her and her father had been tensed in the last days. They would get into a fight more often and they were always irritated around each other. _

_She thought that he would probably complain about the state of her room or how she should turn down the music. She even thought about how he didn't like her freshly dyed hair and assumed that he would probably demand that she should change the color into her natural one again. But those were none of the things he had wanted to talk about. Nothing like that at all. When she stepped into the kitchen, she knew that the following conversation would not be about her immature behavior or her hair style when she saw her father sitting at the table, holding hands with his girlfriend Helga. _

_Helga was never present when she was lectured by her father, and when she was, she wasn't holding hands with him like a teenage-couple and grinning like a small child, who just got candy. No, this would not be about her at all. And then, her father began talking:_

"_Ella, Helga and I, we wanted to tell you something very important."_

_He paused, obviously trying to build up tension, before her dad glanced at Helga, as if asking for_

_her permission to go on:_

"_We will get married!"_

_That wasn't really news she had expected. It took her some time to process the information she had just received. But it did not really made sense in her head._

"_What?!"_

"_We will get married!"_

"_I understood you the first time, dad!"_

_The feeling of confusion and disbelief was gone rather quickly, replaced by anger and fury. The fuck were they thinking, what was her father thinking? He couldn't just marry Helga and expect her to just accept it and congratulate them! And she sure as heck wouldn't pretend to be alright with all this! She would not hide her anger and disapproval and play 'nice daughter'. The smile on the adults' faces faded slowly, showing how confused both were. That was not the reaction they had expected or hoped for._

"_We kind of expected another reaction from you."_

"_Well, you won't get another one! This is a shitty idea and you know it, you both know it. You can't just marry her and expect me to just sit there and smile!"_

_While Helga now looked a bit hurt and uncomfortable, her fathers facial expression turned into a serious stare. Ella knew this stare far too well. It meant trouble for her, but she honestly didn't care. _

"_Maybe I leave you two alone for a second." Helga mumbled, before she hastily stood up and left the room, closing the door behind her. She did not want to interfere with the discussion between Ella and her father that was starting now. This was a private matter, just between father and daughter and if Helga would stay, she would just disturb both of them._

_As soon as She had left the room, Ella yelled at her father again:_

"_What are you thinking. You just can't marry her! This is big, stupid mistake you are making! I don't want you to marry her!"_

_Ella's father just sat there, listening to her pointless yelling and shouting. His facial expression did not change, he kept staring at her with a cold and serious stare._

"_This is not your decision to make, Ella!" he just said._

_The way he said those words, with no hint of emotion and as a matter of a fact infuriated Ella even more._

"_Oh, really?! But it affects me. You cannot expect me to just go with it. Do you think I will accept her as some sort of step-mother? Because I won't, this is just another big mistake you are doing! She is just another mistake of yours"_

_That clearly got a reaction from Ella's dad. Suddenly he rose from his seat, slamming his fist onto the table and shouting:_

"_Watch your mouth, young lady! I don't tolerate such disrespectful behavior to me or to Helga. She is a great woman and you have no right at all to call my relationship with her or her herself a mistake! Am I understood!"_

_Normally, Ella would have backed away, intimidated by her fathers reaction. But not this time. She wasn't sure if she was incredibly brave or incredibly stupid by continuing the argument, maybe both. She could clearly feel the rage boiling inside her like hot water. The feeling was unfamiliar, something was odd. But in all honesty, ate the moment, she did not care. She just wanted to blow off some steam. She would probably regret doing this by having an argument with her father, but if she didn't do this now, she would probably burst with all this pressure building up inside her._

"_Oh, you think I would care? When you marry her, you will abandon me sooner or later. You will abandon me just like you did with mom!"_

"_I did not leave her! She left me and it was evident that it would have not worked out with your mother..."_

"_If you knew _you_ would leave her, then why did you think it would be a good idea to have a child with her?! And why do you think you can do the same mistake again with Helga?!"_

"_Don't interrupt me ever again! You hear me?! And how dare you to talk like that to your father!"_

_He had taken a step towards her. His whole body was tensed, as if he had trouble to control himself. His hands were clenched and his eyes showed his fury he was trying to hold back._

_The strange feeling in her chest grew stronger and stronger. Why wouldn't it just go away? What did she have to do in order to get rid of this pressure, that pressure that kept her going on, that let her believe that it was a good idea to just blame her father with those accusations? To yell at him and provoke him. But she wanted to settle this. Maybe the answers would solve her problem. _

_What else did she have to do to release this pressure, that pressure that almost hurt her. Did she have to go further with her outburst? Did she have to stop? Just what should she do?_

"_I wanna know why you did it Why you do it now? Don't you learn from your mistakes? Will you also leave Helga when the time comes? _Why _would you do that?"_

_The feeling was unbearable now, she couldn't take it anymore, she could feel how she would explode in any moment now. _

"_Just tell me _why_!"_

_And then, suddenly, before her father could react, the pressure relieved itself, but not in the way she ever thought possible. She didn't knew how she did it, she didn't even know that she could do it. There had never been any hints. She was shocked, so was her father. Both stared at each other, wide-eyed. What had just happened? The argument they just had already forgotten, the anger replaced by shock, panic and fear. Why was she one of _them_? The fury she had just felt only seconds ago was gone, gone with the pressure. Her gaze wandered from her fathers shocked face to the frozen floor to the now in ice covered kitchen counter. Then her gaze went back to her fathers face, searching for any kind of answer, for some kind of reassurance or security. But there was none, she could just see her the fear and shock in her fathers eyes. And that frightened her even more. Even though she had just had an argument with her father seconds ago, even though she sometimes hated her father, she had always felt safe around him. Fear wasn't something she ever saw in her fathers face, never. She began trembling, what was happening? What had just happened? _

"_Dad?", she asked with a shaky tone, fear evident in her voice._

"_What just happened, dad?"_

_She was confused, frightened and completely helpless in a way she'd never felt before. Ella felt how tears were slowly running down her cheeks. This was way too much for her._

"_Ella! Ella, my darling, take a deep breath."_

_She did not listen. Was she a conduit now? A freak? A bioterrorist? What would she do now, what would her father do now? How would she explain it to mom? Would she even see her mother again? Would the D.U.P. Now arrest her? But she hadn't done anything yet? How was she supposed to deal with it?_

_Her father began approaching her cautiously. The movement let her snap back to reality. She took a step back from him, she did not want to hurt him. She was dangerous now, a threat. She lifted her hands in a defensive gesture, before stuttering:_

"_No! Don't come near me."_

_Her father took another step forward:_

"_Calm down, darling."_

_She didn't want to hurt him, but she could not control it. This ability, this horrible ability. Why was he approaching her. What if she had an outburst again? This pressure, this feeling, she didn't know how to handle it! She would hurt him! what if she killed him? _

"_Please, dad. I can't control it."_

_He did not listen to his daughters' pleading. _

"_Ella, pull yourself together. I know you won't hurt me. But first of all calm yourself and then we can start looking for a solution, okay? But first, calm down."_

_She nodded, and tried to take deep breaths. Deep, even, breaths. Everything was fine, she could hold it in. She just needed to relax._

"_Everything is fine, Sotnös*. Just relax." she heard her father say. _

"_Just calm down. Easy now. No need to panic."_

A loud, annoying alarm sound rang through the whole flat, effectively waking up the owner in an unpleasant way. She didn't want to get up right now, the bed was so comfortable right now and she was too tired and unmotivated to leave the warmth of her bedsheets. But a quick glance to the noisy alarm clock next to her told the young woman that she had to get up right now in order to be ready in time. So with a groan she lazily sat up and tried to turn off the annoying alarm clock, which was already giving her a headache, before actually standing up.

Her first stop was in her bathroom, and when she turned on the lights she was half blinded by the sudden brightness. She had to blink a few times and shield her eyes before they were able to adjust to their new enlightened surroundings. When she was finally able to see herself in the mirror properly, she saw a tired, young woman with blue eyes and messy, light blond hair staring back at her. An exasperated sigh escaped her lips, she looked like a zombie on drugs, with those dark circles around her eyes, her tired and numb facial expression and her hair that looked like it had never seen a brush. Her mouth was slightly opened and there was a trail of saliva at the corner of her mouth, meaning she had drooled while sleeping.

Ella quickly decided that a shower right now would be a great idea, so she started searching for towels and clean clothes she could wear today. Towels were easily found, but while searching for a proper outfit she could wear today, she searched desperately through her wardrobe, scattering most of it's contents on the floor and leaving a mess behind. When she finally had gathered everything she had searched for, she returned to the bathroom and took off her t-shirt and sweatpants, before she slipped behind the shower curtains.

Soon the feeling of thousands of water drops making contact with her skin were chasing away the tension in her muscles. She closed her eyes, concentrated on the tingling sensation she felt on her skin, savoring the moment. But she could not spend too much time under the shower, she had to hurry up in order to appear at work on time. She quickly shampooed her hair and washed her body with soap before reluctantly stepping out of the shower.

Around twenty minutes later she stepped out of the bathroom, completely dressed and styled for the day. But a quick glance on her smartphone told her she wouldn't be able to have a decent breakfast at home, she had to catch the bus to work in ten minutes. But maybe, she'd still have some time when she got off the bus to make a quick stop at the 'Latte Owl coffeehouse' to buy a coffee and a bagel. Yep, that sounded like a plan her growling stomach would approve of. If she didn't get a decent breakfast today, then all hope for this day would be lost immediately. So she quickly grabbed her keys and her bag and checked if she had everything she needed: smartphone, purse, orca-card, the keys to her flat, earphones, ID-card, pills. Everything there! Ella was ready to go!

She hastily got onto the bus, using her orca-card as payment and quickly searched for a free seat. The air in the bus was warm, but also stifling, compared to the slightly cold, but fresh air she had just breathed outside while walking to the bus station. It was unpleasant to breathe in here, but luckily, she didn't have to sit in the bus for too long. She would survive. While she sat there in silence and listened to the music on her smartphone, she thought about the dream she had had this night. Normally, she couldn't remember any dreams, but this one had not just been a dream, but a memory as well.

Tonight, she had dreamed of the day her powers had first revealed themselves. Her _powers_. She had never really been happy about having them. Because of her powers she had to hide what she really was, who she really was. No one would ever know her real self. If others would find out, they would just fear her, like Helga did, like her father did, like her mother did. Because of her powers she had to run from the government, as if she had ever done something really wrong. For them, all conduits were the same, for them, conduits were maniacs who would go on a rampage when given the chance. Because of her powers she became a criminal without doing anything and because of her powers she would never have a normal or quiet life.

And it all had started back then, when she had just been an average teenager with average teenage problems and average bitchy teenage behavior. When she had just been visiting her father during vacation back in Sweden expecting nothing special. And then, she had unlocked her unknown powers, accidentally turning the kitchen into a giant refrigerator. From there, her whole life had changed and gone downhill.

But even if life hadn't turned out to be how she would have imagined or preferred it, and even when she would rather get rid of her powers than to keep them, she could say that being a conduit sometimes was a cool thing that would come in handy in some situations. But in the world how it was now, with the people fearing conduits and conduits being the minority, she'd rather be a normal person. As a normal person, you wouldn't have to run and hide from the D.U.P.. Those people were the worst consequence of being a conduit. Those guys had full authority to do anything to anyone at any time without facing any consequences. And they made use of that authority!

But she was safe from them for now, they didn't know her current name, her current location and maybe, with some luck, she would be safe from them for a long time. If that, what the news had said was true, then most of the conduits were imprisoned now. That meant, that the D.U.P. had done it's job and that they now had to hand over the captured conduits to the government. They would soon dissolve the D.U.P., they had served their purpose. Ella was sure that the government would probably not waste it's time and budget to hunt down the few remaining individuals as long as they would not cause any problems. They were not worth it. Bluntly said, she just had to try to not screw it up for the next few months and she could live a life without changing identities every once in a while.

The blond woman had been so relieved when she got off the bus. The air had become almost unbearable, so the first thing she did was to take a deep breath. The fresh air in her lungs was refreshing. But she had no time to savor it any longer, her growling stomach reminded her of her plan to go to a coffeehouse to fill it with at least a coffee. The Latte Owl Coffeehouse was just across the street and on her way to work, so she went straight to the small coffeehouse with the bright neon-sign of an owl, stepped through the door and lined up. The queue wasn't that long, so Ella still had hope to come to work in time and with having a decent breakfast, a rare occurrence in her life.

But there was queue nonetheless, meaning that she had to wait for her turn to order something by the unmotivated looking guy behind the counter. She decided to play a game on her phone to kill some time, but was soon distracted by a small conversation between the two people before her. Ella didn't really tried listening to them, but it seemed to be harder to ignore them than paying attention, considering how loudly they spoke. They were mostly just gossiping about this and that, nothing really interesting, until one of them changed the subject:

"You heard what happened yesterday?"

"You mean that those drug dealers who killed three passers while the police tried to arrest them? Happened somewhere here around the corner, didn't it."

"Yeah, but I don't mean that. You really haven't heard it, have ya?"

"A lot happens around here, you gotta be more specific."

"They say that a transport with some bioterrorists had an accident somewhere in the Akomish reserve."

"No way, that isn't so far away from Seattle. You just have to cross the bridge in Queen Anna's district. I just hope nothing too bad happened."

"Well, the drivers died instantly during the accident and two bioterrorists are on the loose. The D.U.P. was able to capture only one of three yet."

"Fuck, really? Do they have a clue where the other two could be? Hate the thought of two of those maniacs running around here somewhere."

"They assume that they hide here in Seattle. And now the D.U.P. is locking the whole city down."

"No way! That's a little bit too harsh, don't ya think? Why do we ,normal people, have to be held in captivity when it is only them who should remain behind bars?"

The conversation was interrupted by the unmotivated guy behind the counter, who was asking for the first person's order. Ella turned pale. Her stomach clenched, her appetite gone. She was in big trouble, scratch that, she was screwed. This couldn't actually be true now, could it? That guy just got some wrong information or was spreading rumors. There had never been a single incident in Curdun Cay where a prisoner had been able to escape, and now a whole transport had an accident with two conduits actually being able to run away? No way, that dude clearly was misinformed, she hoped. Because if he wasn't, and the story he just told his friend was true, then the D.U.P. would get her for sure this time. It was easy to hide from the D.U.P.'s eyes when they had no clue where you actually were. But if they had you trapped in a city, then there was no escape. Once you are in, you can't get out and they had their ways to tell apart the conduits from the bioterrorists. They watched everyone at any time.

She had always been able to escape before they locked down a city. But if this was true, and today was already the second day the D.U.P. was settling down in the city, then it was probably too late for her. It had only taken them two days to cut New York off from the outer world, and just two and a half weeks to take control over the entire city by building some weird scan-stations, installing special surveillance cameras and sending soldiers on patrol on a regular basis. Keeping a low profile was almost impossible under these standards.

And her pills. If she bought any more pills or the substances which could replace them, they would find out that she or one of her sort of conduit was in the city.

She immediately left the coffeehouse, uncertain where to go now. Should she go to work, acting like nothing happened or was about to happen? Should she go and find the next transport out of the city? The harbor wasn't too far away, she could take a ferry right now. Or should she drive back home first and gather her most important belongings before trying to leave the city?

The first option was out of the question. That was the most stupid thing to do now, the chances of leaving the city were shrinking with every minute, going to work would just be a waste of time. She had to leave now! Gathering the most important belongings would take a while, but she didn't really want to lose them. Should she take that risk? She didn't even know if the information she just got was true. Yet, she wouldn't take any risks, better safe than sorry, or something like that.

Her decision was made, she would abandon her things, when the threat was gone, she still could try to return and get everything that was left. She wouldn't risk her freedom for some clothes, reminders and some minor valuables. It wasn't the first time she had to do it, so Ella would get over it. With a determined expression she began heading for the harbor.

When the young woman reached the harbor, she was surprised to see a small crowd at the docks where the ferries, which were headed to locations out of town, would land. Frustrated and angry shouts could be heard and some people were waving their fist over their heads in an aggressive manner. Ella suspected the worst. And then she saw a flash of yellow before the slowly growing crowd. For the second time this day her face went pale and her whole body stiffened. Was she already too late? God, please, let that not be a blockade of the DU.P..

Slowly, she approached the crowd, with every step the tension in her body grew, making moving through the crowd more difficult. With little struggle, she moved to the front, where everyone was looking, while some shouts and murmurs like 'You can't do that' or 'Why are they here' were ringing in her ears like an alarm. Her hope, that this wasn't a blockade but just an unimportant accident, was fading with every step and with every murmur. As she gently pushed the last person out of her way, she froze:

At least four men with yellow, black and black armor, black helmets and guns were standing behind barriers with the D.U.P. logo at it. Two of the men were pointing their gun barrels at the persons who were standing too close to the barrier. They were trying to retain control over the group, afraid that they would overrun the small blockade with the advantage of number of people.

"For the last time, the ferries out of town are all closed. There won't be any ships leaving the harbor today. So leave now before we are forced to use more aggressive methods."

Should she try to take them out? They were no match for her and her abilities, even with those guns. But there were far too many civilians who could see her. If she used her powers now, they would probably get hit by some randomly fired bullets. And even if nobody beside those D.U.P.- Agents would get harmed, those people would certainly scatter in no time, too frightened by her abilities or there would be some stupid idiots who would try to oppose her. There was no way she would get out of town with a ferry. Not here. And the D.U.P. would certainly watch the Washington river from above, and if there were no ships allowed, then she wouldn't get over the river unnoticed.

Maybe she could create some kind of heavy fog, then freeze the water and create some kind of improvised bridge. But that would take way too long, and even if those guys weren't exactly very smart, they weren't stupid either, and a fog out of nowhere at a harbor was like screaming into their faces ' Hey, I'm a conduit. Look what I can do!'. Even if the fog would give her some cover, they would find a way to pinpoint her anyways. They had managed so before. She desperately thought of a way to get away without getting any attention. But she went out of options, She just couldn't find a way. There _was_ now way! But she needed to get out of here. Yet, drawing attention to herself would get her captured in no time, even if she would be able to slip away now. They would be on her tail in no time, and she wouldn't get so lucky twice in her lifetime.

"Skit!*"

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_**one week later**_

Delsin stood before the Space Needle, admiring his work. He could really recognize the symbol he had tagged, even from down here. Now everyone could admire his awesome masterpiece and praise him. He just hoped that the dupes would acknowledge it, he really put alot effort into it, so they better did not take the tagged banner down.

Up until now it had been a very good day, he had been able to finally visit the Space Needle, then he had climbed it, he had learned a new, completely epic move and with this move, he had kicked the D.U.P. off of the freaking Space Needle. And to mark his victory, he had left behind this beautiful piece of art. He had been in a very good mood, and then he had heard it. He couldn't believe his ears when some people, who were also staring up to admire his masterpiece, called the great artist of this banner 'The Banner Man'. Really? Come on, that was just lame, he just made an awesome tag and was freeing this city from the crazy concrete queen and her minions and all they could come up with was _Banner Man_? That almost hurt!

But while thinking about a way to change this ridiculous name as soon as possible, his phone vibrated in his pocket. He quickly got it out, just to see that he got an incoming call from his brother. Great, his brother could surely give him an advise as to how to get rid of his little problem. He answered it and raised the phone to his ear:

"Delsin? I've been asking around about the escaped bioterrorists-"

In all honesty, Delsin didn't really care what his brother was about to say now, he had a more urgent

problem right now, and it needed to be discussed...right now:  
"Do you think I maybe need a P.R. Guy?"  
That sure confused Reggie, Delsin didn't need to see his face right now, he could clearly hear it in his brother's voice:

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"People here are starting to call me the 'Banner Man' which, A is unbelievably lame."

"Uh, maybe not the best idea you hanging around the Space Needle right now."

Delsin ignored that comment and got straight back to his complaining about the nickname those people gave him:  
"I mean, why not 'Smoketastic Man' or hell, just 'The Smoker'?"

"Look, I'll keep trying to get a better lead on the escaped Bio-terrorists. Why don't you see if you can disrupt other D.U.P. operations around there until I get back to you. You can start in Belltown, reports say that there is always something wrong with the equipment. Security cameras constantly detect something and the Tracker Drones report high bio-terrorist activity there, although they couldn't catch one yet."

"You think that might be a conduit setting all these alarms off?"

"Although it's pretty suspicious that it mostly happens in Belltown, the D.U.P. has dismissed those occurrences as malfunctioning equipment. It's not really a lead, but it's a start and the best I can offer now."

"That will do for now. Thanks, Reggie."

Delsin hung up, then headed into the direction of the Belltown district.

'Well, then I'm going to visit my friends the D.U.P. in Belltown and maybe, who knows, learn some new tricks.'

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*Sotnös – sweetheart

*Skit – Shit

* * *

**Well, that was the first chapter. Tell me in the comments what you think about it.**

**What is your first impression of Ella? Where did I make mistakes, grammar mistakes, wrong comma placement, logic mistakes, wrong vocabulary?**

**I know I left some question open like, what power does Ella exactly has (although it should be pretty obvious ;)), or her back-story. But I'll reveal those things bit by bit. Would be pretty lame if I came up with all her secrets and quirks in the first chapter. **

**Thanks for reading this chapter. Until we meet in the next chapter again :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello my dear readers,**

**I present to you, after such a long wait, the new chapter of my story 'Addicted'.**

**But before, I want to thank all the viewers who read my story, who followed, favorited and/or reviewed my story. It means a lot to me and motivates me to write this story even more (even if I need decades to actually finish one chapter). I would have never expected so many views, reviews, favorites and follower after the first chapter. **

**Thank you to: Master Ezeezy, LucidWriter, alicesmartt13, DaEpicNinja, Angel Slayer, inFAMOUS Fan, Power Dude, Angel Slayer, Shadowman-DDT and Anna, who reviewed my story and told me their opninion of this story. **

**And now, enjoy this second chapter!  
**

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"I'm sorry, mam, but due to the current measures that had to be taken in order to capture the bioterrorists, we could only be supplied with the most important medicines. And the product you asked for has already been sold."

Ella was starting to get really desperate. That had been the third drugstore she had gone to, and none of them had what she needed. A frustrated sigh escaped her lips, the situation was growing worse with every day she was trapped in this godforsaken city.

She bit her lower lip, shifted her weight from one leg to the other and folded her arms as she tried to think of a way to solve her problem. How could she get what she needed so badly? That had been the last drugstore in this area which could have had any supplies left, and trying to leave the district would mean to get past the scan-stations. Of course she could try sneaking around those checkpoints by going through small alleys or over rooftops, but she already knew that there were also many dupes patrolling the area to make sure everybody would be controlled when leaving the district.

She needed those medications as soon as possible, the last time she had taken a pill had been two days ago. Or three? She wasn't sure. But she already felt how _it_ slowly gained more and more control over her body, how she was already suffering under it. How the bedsheets suddenly felt rougher at night, how she couldn't fall asleep anymore because she could feel _everything _ten-times stronger than before, because all of a sudden, everything seemed to make loud noises. Then, she would break out in cold sweat randomly or would be seized by a cramp, she felt cold more often. And her powers? They were slowly getting out of control. She felt how they were growing, and how they were betraying her to the D.U.P.. Yet, with setting so many alarms off at the same time, they couldn't pinpoint her, and she was lucky that they thought it was because of some faulty equipment. But it wouldn't take them too long to figure out what really was happening. After all, they weren't _that_ stupid. Yet, the condition she was in was bearable. But how long would it take until she would have the more severe symptoms? Until she would lose control, until _it_ would gain the upper hand?

She wished the shop assistant a good day and quickly left the drugstore. As she walked down the street, something unsettled her, it was too quiet. Or was she just becoming paranoid? She didn't have the feeling of being watched anymore, and there weren't any soldiers she could see. There was no sound of a surveillance camera setting off the alarm, no loudspeakers announcing how extremely dangerous bio-terrorists were and how civilians should report any suspicious persons and no civilians laying on the pavement, hurt and unable to move. She wasn't sure how she should react to that. Should she be relieved that those cameras had been turned off and that she had her peace for once this week or should she be suspicious as to why there was no alarm and no yellow soldiers in sight? Was it a trap, or was she just lucky?

Her phone vibrated, interrupting her trail of thoughts and informing her that she had a new message:

_Hey Ellie, you still wanna meet up for that coffee you promised me?_

The message was from Jonah, an acquaintance from work. Meeting for a coffee didn't sound bad at all, after that failed attempt to find the medication and less of the D.U.P. around, she could use some company and Jonah was a friendly guy. Sometimes a bit weird and strange, but the closest she could call a friend. She hadn't planned on doing anything else anyway and she could move more freely for now, so why not? Without hesitation, she quickly typed an answer:

_Sure, why not? Meet ya at the cafe in the Denny Park in ten minutes?_

She didn't have to wait long for a reply:

_Fine by me. See you there._

Immediately, she changed her course and turned to the right into a small alley. She could think about her problems later, now she wanted to distract herself from them. If she didn't do anything now, she'd go crazy, not something she would let happen. The alley she entered was normally deserted, a small shortcut she'd taken several times. Seemed as if the D.U.P. was also patrolling here somewhere in the area, otherwise they wouldn't have mounted those incredibly ugly comfort stations here. They certainly didn't put them up for the public, even though people were using them too. But as she glanced to those yellow comfort stations, she stopped in her tracks. She stared at the wall behind them, slowly proceeding what she was seeing, before a smile crept up her face. That smile evolved into a giggle quickly. That hadn't been there when she'd use the shortcut to get to the drugstore fifteen minutes ago.

Someone had sprayed a queue to the wall, looking like they waited to use the toilet. But at the end of the queue, there was a man in yellow and black armor, obviously a D.U.P. soldier, and he looked like he would soil his pants in any moment now. That graffiti had been the most creative she had seen in a while. Normally those graffiti artists would just spray their names or some messages that didn't make any sense, but this picture had actually been a creative piece of work, understandable for everyone and with some sort of purpose. She made a picture with her phone, so she wouldn't forget it before moving on. But that image stayed in her mind the whole day.

* * *

She looked up from her phone as the other chair at the table made scratching noises while being pulled back by a person. While she had been waiting for her 'friend' to arrive, she had already occupied a table for two outside of the small cafe, enjoying the good weather today. A young man with auburn hair and a short boxed beard sat down, made himself comfortable before he concentrated his attention on the blond woman, who was eying him questioningly. He was 15 minutes late. Apparently, he understood her questioning gaze, because instead of greeting her he started explaining immediately :

"Sorry, it took me a bit longer than I thought to get here. You know, with all these scan-stations and patrols. And that Banner man flushing the D.U.P. like they are all partridges makes those gun-wielding dudes a bit more trigger-happy."

Shock appeared on the blond woman's face. 'Trigger-happy'? They tried to _shoot_ him on his way here? Were those guys crazy? She knew that they sometimes beat up people who tried to do something very stupid or provoked them -those people laying injured on the pavement didn't appear out of nowhere-, but shooting at civilians?

"Jeauvlaur*, they did _what_?!"

His eyes widened slightly as he realized how his last statement sounded and quickly shook his head, hastily explaining himself:

"No no no no, that sounded wrong! They didn't _really _shoot at me. They just threatened to do so. Pointing their guns at civilians and making friendly comments like 'Try anything stupid and we'll shoot you immediately'. No reason to panic. But it's nice to see that you care about me."

Ella heaved a sigh of relief, for one moment she thought her heart would stop beating. Last thing she needed was the D.U.P. going on a rampage and shooting Jonah and random people. Stupid Jonah, scaring her like this.

"Well, I'm glad they just threatened people and didn't actually shoot at anyone."

"I didn't say that. I said they didn't shoot at _me_."

Now he was talking like that on purpose. She wasn't in the mood for that.

"Jonah, that's not funny."

"No, really. I heard gunshots and screams coming from that place where the awfully pink car-wash is. Think it was the Banner man ."

He was talking about people possibly dying like it was nothing. And he hadn't been scared and had gone back to his flat, but instead he had continued to head here. And who was the 'Banner Man'?

That name didn't ring a bell. Should it?

"And you just didn't give a damn about it? And who is the 'Banner Man'?"

Now Jonah seemed to be dumbfounded. As if she had said something really stupid. She didn't, did she? She never heard of someone called 'The Banner man'. She was pretty sure she'd remember such a silly name. But that stare of him made her feel uncomfortable, confused.

"You haven't heard of him? Man, do you live under a rock? He's like, I don't know, the freaking hero of this city. He's awesome, I tell you. He runs around and kicks those yellow soldiers' asses, but at the same time, he's showing mercy, he frees the people who are suspected of being conduits and heals the injured on the street. Doesn't ring a bell?"

"Not really," she answered hesitantly.

"He cleaned up at the Space Needle? Hanged his Banner there? That's why they call him 'Banner Man'? Come on, that was on the news!"

"That guy that hoisted up that flag on top of the Space Needle gave himself a name? I didn't know that, also didn't know of his hobbies. Then, he's a conduit?"

"I suppose, I don't think an ordinary mortal would survive all those bullets and concrete throwing monkeys."

She rolled her eyes at his words, smiling nonetheless.

One of the reasons why she liked Jonah was his attitude towards conduits and the D.U.P.. At work, she had soon realized that he was one of those few who didn't support the D.U.P. or trusted the government blindly, like most of the people did. Of course he didn't support conduits actively or praised them, but he had understood that they had once been normal persons, like everyone else. So why would suddenly _all_ of them turn into reckless and ruthless criminals? And then, when Seattle had been locked down and the citizens captured in the city, he had soon learned to dislike the D.U.P.. She was more comfortable around him, because when it came to those conversations, she didn't have to act up and pretend to support the arrest of all bio-terrorists. But she also was no fool, and so she didn't tell him of her secret. She left him unaware of her real self, afraid of his reaction or what he might spill, on purpose or not. She couldn't trust him, and just because of that fact, she couldn't call him a friend, as much as she'd loved to.

After they both ordered a coffee and a piece of chocolate cake for Jonah -which Ella would have to pay for, because she had promised him to pay for the coffee and he had managed it to expand 'coffee' into 'everything he wanted to order'-, they changed the subject. They were talking about work, how the lock-down of the city was interfering with their job and how this whole situation put them out of work:

"So, with all that free time we both got right now, what did you do today?",

Jonah asked after sipping at his cup filled with the black and bitter liquid.

"Not much. Actually, I just brought new shoes and roamed various drugstores. Tried to find some Anexylamin, but it's already been sold in every store in this district and I'd hate to go through those scan-stations. Especially not when the dupes seem to get more aggressive, as you've told."

"You can't leave the district anyway, not while the Banner Man is still in Belltown. And I wouldn't try to sneak past them. If they catch you, you're screwed."

"Skit*, I really need those pills, but apparently there is no need to support the city with any Anexylamin at all. Dum* D.U.P.."

"You thought about going to the hospital? You never told me which disease you are suffering from, but you sound like you really need this medication. And I'm sure they are properly supplied there. It's worth a try."

"Forget it,"

Ella snapped immediately a little bit too loud. Her eyes had slightly widened in fear and her body slightly tensed. Jonah, a bit startled from Ella's reaction, eyed her suspiciously now:

"And why?" he asked, emphasizing the last word.

Suddenly, she seemed to be nervous, avoiding his questioning his stare and trying find a proper answer:

"Because..Well...I don't like...hospitals?"

It was rather another question than an answer. When she realized that he obviously wasn't buying it, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath before answering:

"Look, I really don't wanna go to a hospital. I've been avoiding them since I was a teenager, okay? There _has_ to be another way."

His intense stare made her uncomfortable and at the moment, she just wanted to escape his stare. Would he leave it at that, or would he try to find out what was so horrible about hospitals that she didn't want to go there? One thing was sure for Ella, he surely wouldn't get any answers from her if he decided to bug her with more questions. After what seemed like ages, his stare softened a bit -to her surprise- and his eyes darted to the left, than to the right. Then, he leaned a bit forward, she did the same, what had he in mind? Did he feel watched? She prepared for anything bad that could escape his lips, from scolding, to threats. But what he said next, in a low voice, surprised her:

"Look, normally I don't have much to do with those people and I won't try to make you do drugs, but those drug dealers hanging around here can get you anything you want. Don't ask me how they manage to pass those medications through the customs, but I'm sure they can get you your pills, if they don't already have. With that lack of medications, their business has to run as good as never."

The blond woman was baffled, speechless and completely confused. She certainly hadn't expected that answer. She had expected scolding, suspicious interest, but not...such a suggestion. Had she just imagined his last words, because even if Jonah sometimes was strange or extraordinary, she had been sure that he wasn't doing drugs or had any connections to drug dealers. Was she already hallucinating because of her lack of pills?

"What did you just suggest," she asked, her voice slightly trembling.

"I don't tell you to do drugs, but there are only three options: You wait, you go to the hospital or you go to them. Just trying to help."

"_How _would you even knowabout this?"

"I tell you how I got the information when you tell me why you need Anexylamin."

He raised an eyebrow, his facial expression daring. She narrowed her eyes. For a brief moment, she considered telling him what he wanted to know, just out of curiosity, but she quickly decided against it. That information she would get in exchange wasn't worth it.

Her body relaxed, she leaned back in her chair, running a hand through her braided hair without untangling it and looked into the sky, thinking about her options. After a couple of seconds, she let out a sigh, before mumbling:

"I...I have to think about it."

"When you have made up your mind, then go to this address and ask the shop assistant if he could show you the more special products and mention that 'Marcus' told you that they had the best assortment in the whole district," he murmured while he was writing down something on a napkin and handing it to her. She hesitantly took it and stuffed it into her bag. She didn't want to go down that path. But then again, she wasn't really doing drugs, she would just...buy her medications from a drug dealer, reluctantly. Nobody could judge her for that now, could they? The government practically forced her to do it, what other choice did she have? She didn't have to feel bad or guilty, it was not her fault. And she would stop as soon as the D.U.P. was gone and the drugstores supplied decently again. This was her last alternative, the last way out of her dilemma, and she wouldn't just ignore it.

"Thank you, Jonah," she whispered, her voice so faint that he almost didn't hear it. But he did, and a small smile crept up his face.

"Don't mention it! And I mean that literally, or the cops are going to pay you a visit." He winked at the blond woman and his smile grew into a wide grin. The tension from before was gone immediately, replaced by an easiness she usually felt when she talked to him.

"Just how stupid do you think I am?"

"You once glued your hands on a wig you were making. This should answer your question."

"That can happen to everyone who works in our branch!"

"You don't need glue to knot a wig."

* * *

'Maybe,' Delsin thought,'Maybe I should have thought that through.' Even though he would never admit it, he overestimated himself a little bit this time. He would defeat them all -he absolutely would- provided that he would find some smoke to actually get the job done, but right now, he was avoiding those gun-wielding guys, by running. **Not** fleeing, just running into a direction where these seven soldiers wouldn't follow him or get him until he could find some smoke to charge his powers. The problem: there was no stack with the gray clouds around that he needed so desperately right now. He _really_ should have thought that plan through, but the thought of playing a prank call to that woman on the D.U.P. help line had been so appealing, he didn't want to keep her waiting. The reaction when he had asked her what she was wearing had been totally worth the trouble he had to deal with now. But he could laugh about it later, now he had to get to a rooftop ASAP. Climbing would take too long, the dupes would shoot him in the back. But there were more ways to get to a roof than climbing, especially when you were a conduit. All he needed was the vent on that building over there. Without hesitation he ran straight into the round vent, and just a couple of seconds later, Delsin found himself on top of the building.

He had almost completely freed the Belltown-district, the only thing that was left to do was to win this final fight right now. Then, people could move freely again, without constant surveillance and they would have one more reason to praise him as the hero of Seattle. And maybe, they would stop calling him 'Banner Man'. And maybe the other conduits would reveal themselves to him, then he wouldn't have to search in every corner for them, because that was not just plain boring, but also incredibly frustrating after some time. That conduit that should be hiding somewhere in this district was either a phantom, incredibly good at avoiding people (including him and the D.U.P.) or didn't exist. It was like his brother had told him, the surveillance cameras would constantly ring the alarm, the drones flying around the area weren't doing a better job and the dupes had been patrolling more often. He had been trying to catch the conduit while the cameras were detecting high conduit activity, but there was just no person who was in line to be a possible conduit and it was pretty hard to watch so many people at the same time. So he had waited nearby a surveillance camera until it had set off the alarm, but to no avail, he just couldn't find him/her. And Reggie had no track on the other conduits yet. But Delsin had to get stronger in order to defeat Augustine, in order to help his people back home, in order to help Betty.

"Come on, I just need a bit smoke."

He searched the nearby area, no smoke coming from the stacks nearby, not a single trail of those gray cl...**There! **It wasn't much, just a faint trail coming from a stack on top of a cafe, but it was better than nothing and definitely enough to send those yellow morons back to sleep. There weren't many civilians around the place, just two couples sipping their drinks in the afternoon sun and a guy typing something on his laptop. The all too familiar sounds of gunshots suddenly filled the air again, a clear sign for Delsin to get moving. And he didn't waste any time and dashed to the rooftop of the cafe. The surprised screams of the people far below on the ground didn't matter right now. He got used to them pretty fast, he didn't pay them much attention. He put out his hand and almost automatically the grayish black cloud seemed to flow to his hands, into his body and felt how his power was returning to him. It still felt a bit weird, but for Delsin, it was a feeling he connected with joy and anticipation.

All the remaining soldiers who had followed him up to this cafe were all standing on the street, blocking the traffic, pointing their gun barrels up in the air in his direction. The civilians who had been sipping their coffee peacefully only seconds ago were cowering on the ground, fearing for their lives. One man tried to crawl away from the scenery, but the others remained. He couldn't do a comet drop now, he would hurt or probably kill these innocent persons, something he didn't want to be responsible for. He decided that shooting them from up here with his smoke shots would also do the job, it would of course be less epic, but better than killing civilians. Unfortunately, his enemies didn't just hold still, but quickly built small walls of concrete, thick enough to block all his attacks from above and just high enough so they could hide behind them.

'Time to keep them some company down there.'

And with that thought in mind he jumped down, ignoring the surprised screams of the civilians, either fearing for his safety or fearing himself.

The soldiers quickly left their hiding spot, their weapons ready to shoot him, but before the first could even fire, he was knocked out by a strike of a reddish glowing chain. The D.U.P. soldier was not killed, but he certainly wasn't in any condition to fight anymore, and the second one followed soon, before the remaining five were able to shoot at him. Delsin swirled around and rose his arm, quickly firing smoke and ember at his enemies, targeting their heads while staying in motion so it would be harder for them to hit him with their bullets. They missed him almost every time, but so did he, but while they were backing off of him, he was approaching them. They were scattering, and trying to overpower him with their weak concrete powers, but he dodged and they missed him. He quickly dashed to the nearest soldier and knocked him out like he did it with the first two. But he had to retreat again, he was too close to the remaining four soldiers who now were able to hit him with their bullets and their concrete. The four soldiers were regrouping, shouting instructions at each other and trying to make a new plan. They were planning to surround him trying to get him into a crossfire.

"You know, maybe you should try to tell each other your plans _without _me noticing. Just sayin',"

Delsin shouted, mocking them with his words. The answer came promptly: they fired again.

"You should learn to take criticisms!"

Apparently their plan to surround him was discarded, because they stood all at one place. He didn't think twice as he gathered enough energy in his right hand to fire a cinder missile to end this battle quickly. But Delsin had forgotten that there still had been civilians cowering under tables, too afraid to crawl away. And five of those were cowering behind the yellow soldiers, three men and two women, who had just came to this place to enjoy the afternoon-sun while sipping a good coffee. He realized too late that they were in the line of fire, in the range of the cinder missile. The D.U.P.-soldiers would certainly survive the attack, they were protected by thick, yellow armor, but the others, they could easily die if they were hit by such a missile without any protection. But Delsin realized that too late.

Time seemed to slow down as he saw the missile colliding with the first soldier, throwing him off his feet, sending him flying into the yellow armored man behind him. The heat burned the third and the blast wave knocked the fourth out, but the missile was strong, as strong as a rocket and it was approaching the civilians and Delsin couldn't do a thing against it. And although it seemed that time had slowed down, what happened next was too fast for him to comprehend at first. The concentrated smoke and burning ember clashed with a flash of white, blocking the heat and the force of the blow entirely. Baffled, he stared at the daggers, thorns and stings, all sprawled chaotically over the place, but still so ordered that they built a wall to protect the person behind them, who had created them.

Delsin was about to comment the incident that had happened before his eyes, but a loud exclamation from a young man, also behind the wall of ice and frost let him hold his words for a moment:

"What the fuck?! Ella! You are a _bioterrorist_?"

Delsin still stood there, mouth slightly agape. Being honest, he had given up on the thought of finding the conduit who had hoaxed the D.U.P. in Belltown (and him), but finding her here, completely by accident was just…He was luckiest conduit in Seattle (not that there were so many). But he still didn't know how she looked like, but he now at least knew her name: Ella. He slowly approached the wall, surrounded it and had to duck as white splitters of ice flied just past his ear:

"We're on the same side! I just want to talk!"

'And maybe I want some of your powers.'

But the girl had already turned her back to him and ran off down the street, leaving her bag at the table she had been sitting on before he had shown up.

Delsin cursed under his breath, immediately chasing after her, ignoring the shouts and screams of the people who had seen the spectacle (again). She was fast, turning into a flash of ice and frost to get away from him, but he was faster. But what he didn't expect her to do was to turn around in a fluid motion and to throw some more ice at him. He reacted quickly, melting the small daggers and splitters she had thrown at him and gained some more speed. His attempts to persuade her to stop weren't helping at all (not that he would give up trying), and if she wouldn't listen by herself, then he would make her. She tried some more times to hit him, and each blow of her was getting stronger, so strong that he couldn't melt it anymore, he had to duck. He had almost reached her when she turned around again, but this time she wasn't aiming for him directly. This time her shot hit the street before his feet, and the cold was spreading fast around the spot where her shot had come into contact with the gray concrete. Faster than Delsin could react he ran right on the ice spreading on the floor and as soon as he stepped onto it the cold, frozen water crawled up his feet, over his ankles to his knees, immobilizing him.

'Great. Another woman who wants to see me in shackles.' he thought.

The only difference between these shackles and Augustines was that ice could easily be melted with smoke. That small amount of snow wouldn't hold him off very long, he would catch up to her and then they would talk, provided that she would stop running away from him. Hastily, he shot at the shackles with smoke but when he was finally freed from the ice on his feet, she was already gone. When he realized that he had lost sight of her, he tried to find her again, but she was gone. She had escaped and he had only learned two things of her: she was a conduit with ice abilities named Ella.

* * *

Time to call Reggie.

Jeauvlaur – fuck

skit – shit/crap

dum -stupid

* * *

**Just some information about Ella:**

**She will not be someone who will always make the right decisions, who will always just do the good things or magically knows what decisions will be the right ones. She will make mistakes, she will do and say stupid things and maybe, she will not be forgiven. She also won't be a superstrong conduit who will defeat Augustine and her D.U.P. with a single fart, I know that it maybe seems like it right now, but believe me she isn't someone really strong or special. I don't want her to be or become a Mary-Sue who lets the other character look like they are stupid morons who won't get the job done, and if she seems to evolve in such a character, then please, PLEASE tell me. Nothing can spoil a story as much as a Mary-Sue and ooc-characters.  
**


End file.
